Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias will meet with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in Athens on Thursday 9 June, as part of her first visit to Greece since taking office.
The two foreign ministers will have a private meeting at 12:05 and will then make joint statements to the press at around 13:00, according to a statement by the Foreign Ministry.
After the statements, a working lunch will be held between the two delegations.
Discussions between the two Foreign Ministers will cover the whole range of bilateral relations, including outstanding issues. In addition, the talks are expected to focus on developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Western Balkans.
«I am visiting one of our closest partners in Europe»
German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock described her upcoming trip to Athens as a visit to one of «one of our closest partners in Europe». She also stresses the importance she attaches to keeping alive the memory of the atrocities committed in the country by the Nazi occupation forces.
«I am visiting one of our closest partners in Europe. Both on support for Ukraine and the joint European response to Russia's aggression, and on our determination to fight the climate crisis and accelerate the massive development of renewable energy, we have like-minded people in Athens,» she said in a statement ahead of her visits to Pakistan, Greece and Turkey.
Referring to the Second World War, she stresses that «while many Germans are familiar with Greece from memorable holidays, the extent of the atrocities committed by the Germans here during the Nazi occupation is often little known». As foreign minister, «it is important for me to keep the memory alive,» he added.
«At the same time, Greece plays an important role in terms of security in the Mediterranean. At a time when the security order in Europe is being fundamentally challenged by President Putin, we, as NATO allies and European partners, must stand united. It is important to solve problems through discussions and not by escalating tensions,» the Foreign Minister continued, noting that this will also be an important issue in her talks with Turkey, which she described as an «indispensable» partner.
«My trip to Turkey brings me to an indispensable partner and a country that is more connected to ours than any other. To millions of people in Germany a German and a Turkish heart beats. The times when this was considered a problem are over. For me, this double pulse means double strength,» says Annalena Berbok, while stressing that, «as in any close relationship, I will speak frankly to our Turkish friends: About the importance of NATO and its strengthening through hosting Finland and Sweden, about ways out of Putin's systematic war, about grain and Turkey's mediation that gives hope to desperate people around the world.» He added that he would address issues «on which there are major, sometimes fundamental, differences: freedom of expression, human rights, implementation of the obligations of membership of the Council of Europe» and said: «We see that here our paths are moving further and further apart, we must ensure that we come closer to each other again».
On her visit to Pakistan, the Foreign Minister said that the crisis in Afghanistan has disappeared from the headlines but not from the focus of the German government's attention and said that Pakistan is a key partner of Berlin for the security of those people from Afghanistan for whom Germany is responsible.
